Perris planning commission approves 427,224‑sq‑ft Sinclair Street warehouse, adds ban on cold storage

The Perris Planning Commission on Jan. 15 voted 4‑0 to approve Development Plan Review (DPR) 22‑0027 and adopt Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) 2394 to allow construction of a 427,224‑square‑foot industrial warehouse on a 20.2‑acre site at 100 West Sinclair Street, at the terminus of Sinclair and west of North Perris Boulevard.

The commission approved Resolution 25‑1 and attached a set of findings and conditions of approval, including a newly added operational condition stating that cold storage or refrigerated warehousing uses are prohibited on the site. Vice Chair Shively moved approval; Commissioner Jimenez seconded. Commissioners Lopez, Jimenez, Shively and Chair Jerry Hammond voted yes.

Why it matters: the project is among several large warehouse proposals in the Perris Valley Commerce Center specific plan. Commissioners and members of the public focused on on‑site circulation, truck routing, visual screening along Paris Boulevard and landscaping, and mitigation measures required by the project’s MND.

Project details and approvals The approved plan would replace two demolished buildings with a single modern industrial building about 46 feet, 6 inches tall, according to the staff presentation. The site design includes 108 vehicle parking spaces, about 96 trailer parking stalls on the south side of the property, and dock doors along the north elevation (the plan set shows 35 dock positions). The applicant proposes one indoor employee amenity area and two outdoor amenity areas on the east side of the building.

Staff and the applicant said the project complies with development standards in the Perris Valley Commerce Center specific plan for lot coverage, floor‑area ratio, building height and setbacks. The approval package includes Mitigated Negative Declaration 2394 and a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program prepared under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Access, truck routes and circulation Staff described two approved travel paths to serve the site: a route via Harley Knox and a second route using Placentia/Indian Avenue/Redlands to Sinclair. The project is intended to follow the city’s adopted truck‑route plan. Commissioners and staff repeatedly raised the commingling of passenger cars and heavy trucks at the single site entrance on Sinclair Street as a safety concern.

To address on‑site circulation concerns the commission added an administrative condition directing staff and the applicant to implement a signaling or traffic‑management system along the primary drive aisle to manage truck ingress and egress and reduce conflicts between trucks and passenger vehicles. The condition will be to the satisfaction of the planning manager and does not prescribe a specific technology; staff and the applicant told the commission they expect to use signage, striping, lighting, card readers and other operational measures.

Landscaping, screening and building design The applicant told the commission it increased landscaping in response to ad hoc committee comments, including larger container sizes for entry trees and additional 24‑inch box trees. “We took your comments seriously and we've enhanced the landscaping greatly,” applicant Paul Loubet said during his presentation.

Commissioners pressed the applicant for additional screening along the east property line where the site faces Paris Boulevard (the property to the east is an approved wraparound development that is currently in the permit review and is expected to be built in the future). Ruben Choi of HPA, the applicant’s consultant, cautioned that drainage and site grading limit planting opportunities immediately inside the property line: “it’ll be very difficult for us to be able to put anything on our end of the building,” he said.

The commission also added a condition requiring the applicant to work with staff on an alternate glazing color complementary to the building palette (added as a building‑elevations requirement) to reduce visual contrast along Paris Boulevard.

Trail improvements and public infrastructure The applicant agreed to extend an existing trail along the MWD (California Aqueduct) easement: the project will extend the trail to cross Sinclair with pedestrian signal upgrades and continue south to Johnson Road. Staff said the applicant is conditioned to widen Sinclair and provide associated street lights and sidewalks in the project reach.

CEQA review and agency comments Staff reported that the draft IS/MND was circulated and that comments were received from multiple agencies and organizations, including the airport land use commission (ALUC), Cal Fire, the city’s RTA contact, Riverside County Flood, South Coast Air Quality Management District and local advocacy groups; staff made minor text edits to the document but said those edits did not change the conclusions. The planning commission adopted the MND and the associated mitigation monitoring program as part of the approval.

Public comment and labor support Several speakers addressed the commission during the public hearing. Representatives of labor unions and community groups spoke in favor of the project, citing job opportunities and commitments to use a local, skilled workforce. Zach Strawsters of Care California told the commission the developer worked with the community and that “the community is thoroughly satisfied.” Local union representatives including the Ironworkers and the Plumbers & Pipefitters described apprenticeship and local‑hire commitments.

Conditions and next steps In addition to adopting the MND and approving DPR 22‑0027, the commission agreed to the following changes and directions recorded in the project file: add an operational condition (new condition 55) prohibiting cold storage/refrigerated warehousing; correct the school district reference in condition 29 to Val Verde Unified School District; add a building‑elevations condition (21B) requiring the applicant to work with staff on an alternate glazing color; and add a new plot‑plan condition (20D) directing staff and the applicant to implement a drive‑aisle signaling/traffic‑management system for truck ingress/egress to the satisfaction of the planning manager. The commission also directed staff and the applicant to continue refining lighting, fencing and signage details during plan check and to coordinate on the trail and Sinclair widening work.

The project record shows the applicant and city will proceed to final plan check, permitting and coordination with neighboring property owners; any change in use that would introduce refrigerated/cold storage would require a separate discretionary approval.

Ending note The planning commission approved the project 4‑0 and the item will proceed to any required subsequent approvals and building permits. Several commissioners said they supported the project’s design and community benefits while continuing to flag on‑site circulation and east‑side screening as implementation issues staff should monitor and resolve during plan check and construction.